Jesus Remodels the world
The long season of Sundays after Pentecost, also called Ordinary Time, feels anything but ordinary this year. The dual pandemics of coronavirus and racism expose our individual isolation and communal fragmentation. We’ve been in the Psalms of communal lament, and before that some of Galileo’s greatest hits, and before that “6 Things That Scare Me” (using John’s gospel rather than the Lectionary texts) – so it’s been a minute since we tagged along with Jesus as he makes his way through Galilee helping and healing and arguing with people.
When we catch up with him, he’s demonstrating his world-making power, inviting us into a new social imaginary, showing us what the world is like when God is among us.
Parables. Some seeds flourish, some don’t. What kind of soil are they planted in? How does Jesus invite us to grow and become useful? What conditions are necessary for our growth? We’re gonna play with this till we get tired.
It’s important to be woke, yes, but rest is just as important. And not enough of us get (or are able to get) the rest we need.
Feeding people. In the eucharistic economy, there is always enough for everyone to get what they need. The sharing of food teaches us to share everything, even the intangibles that are hard to measure but plentiful just the same, in God’s economy.
Walking on the water. We can pretend that we know how the world works – surface tension of water, for example, won’t hold an upright human on the soles of their feet. But Jesus knows different, and he’s asking us to believe him when he says the world works according to God’s own rules, not anybody else’s. Also, livestreaming services is hard work, and doesn’t always work out perfectly.
Contention with the VRPs; holiness and hypocrisy. Jesus’s potty humor, combined with his willingness to push the buttons of the VRPs (they just need to calm down, ya know?) at every turn, makes us very happy. We wish he knew from microbes and would make his disciples wash their hands, though.
Who do you say that I am? Keys to the kingdom. Passion prediction. Jesus is radically invitational, allowing us to assess his messianic project – to an extent. He shares power in his ministry, but won’t bend on the necessity of his move to the margins. Jesus the crucified isn’t something his followers want, but he’s insistent.
Transfiguration. Mustard seed faith. Jesus the sent, Jesus the sending – it does not require pilgrimage to get to where he is, or where he’s been. He’s prepared to travel, to come down from the mountain, even as we tend to prioritize a static place for his presence. When we’ve been told to stay at home, away from the BRB where we gather, can we believe that Jesus still comes to us?